Exposition Park Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Library

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa cut the ribbon on the first "green" library in South Los Angeles - the new Exposition Park Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Regional Branch Library, on Monday, at 3900 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90062. The new Exposition Park Regional Branch is the first green library in South LA and will meet the U. S. Green Building Council Gold LEED standards for environmentally sustainable design. Features include low-flow plumbing and irrigation to reduce water use by 30 percent; high-efficiency mechanical and lighting systems to reduce energy consumption by 27 percent; and recycled building materials which comprise more than 10 percent of the building. The new branch library also hosts a 44-kilowatt solar photovoltage "power plant," owned and operated by the L.A. Department of Water and Power. The system has 480 solar panels and produces more than 57,500 kilowatt-hours per year, enough energy to serve about 10 households annually. The new 14,500-square-foot facility replaces a branch facility built in 1974 and will house the Los Angeles Public Library's 19th Adult Literacy Center, which offers free programs, tutoring and materials to improve the reading, writing, math and other literacy skills of the estimated one million Angelenos considered illiterate.